Best of Earth As Art Contest

The Yukon Delta

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Landsat series of Earth observation satellites, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA are sponsoring an Earth As Art art contest. In the contest you can vote for up to 5 pictures from the selection of 126 Earth images. Voting closes on July 6. The five winning images in the Earth as Art contest will be announced on July 23 in Washington, D.C. at a special event commemorating the launch of the first Landsat satellite.

While the purpose of these images is to provide scientific information, a great many of them are strikingly beautiful. Spectacular views of mountains, valleys, islands, forests, grasslands, and agricultural patterns have a rather unique aesthetic appeal. The combination of natural features that have been colorized using a digital palette produces images that are not only beautiful but also informative. It is worth noting that the Earth as Art concept was preceded by the Mars as Art and Sun as Art programs that were a consequence of robotic missions studying Mars and the Sun.

About the Landsat Program

Built by NASA and operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Landsat satellites supply Earth scientists, land-resource managers, and policy makers with data about changes to the global landscape. Some changes, like floods or volcanic eruptions, occur quickly while others, like urban sprawl or regrowth from forest fires, appear gradually. Landsat records these and many other changes to the Earth’s landscape – whether man made or induced by natural processes. NASA is preparing to launch the next Landsat satellite in 2013, which will be turned over to USGS for operations and data distribution.

The western region of Australia’s Great Sandy Desert

Earth As Art Images

You can download full size versions of the Earth As Art images but to do so requires that you register for an account on the USGS Earthexplorer web site. To register for an account visit https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/register/.

Earth As Art Contest Web Site

As previously noted the contest is open until July 6 and you may vote for up to 5 images. To view the contest entries and vote, visit eros.usgs.gov/eaa_voting/

Reference Links

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